Plot bunnies up for adoption
by KatRum
Summary: A few freebie scenes that have been sitting on my laptop for ages - if you want to extend on these feel free but just let me know so I can read the outcomes :) Note: chapters are independent of eachother, and are mostly Ichigo-centric so far
1. Chapter 1

(see the end of the chapter for spoilers/context)

When he wakes, it is to the sensation of drowning. All he can think is _I'm going to die here_ as he struggles to breathe. The world comes and goes in waves of agony, blurring his vision in varying degrees of focus. It takes a moment to register that Zangetsu is all but yelling at him to move _._ _Danger,_ he says. _Run_. Some of the pain is numbed and he feels more than hears Zangetsu's wince as he takes the brunt of it.

At his sword's urgency, he drags himself to his feet with the aid of a nearby tree, still drowning, pushing off of the thick trunk and forces his body to flash step, barely missing the dense scattering of trees in the process.

 _Faster,_ _Ichigo._

He obeys, his legs moving of their own accord, until his lungs expel more air than they take in.

His shoulder is yanked roughly, and between one blink and the next he is crashing into another tree, splinters showering around him as his vision all but blacks out.

He feels his consciousness slip, the wall in his mind sliding away with it as something dark pushes itself to the surface with a guttural growl.

He feels his body move swiftly, coating the ground in red with a familiar but painful tug of his reiatsu, and doing away with the threat with a few well-placed strikes.

Exhausted, it recedes its control back to Ichigo with a vulgar insult, retreating to the depths of his mind once again.

The sudden change causes him to stagger and lose his grip on his zanpakuto, and he can feel the breaking of Zangetsu's wall protecting him against the worst of the pain. It hits him like a sledgehammer to the chest, the exertion making itself known as he collapses and the dark flicker of shadows from the trees' canopies fades to nothing.

Shinji doesn't really mind the late-night shifts of watch duty. The crisp night air helps to calm his nerves after the long months of hiding and being cooped up underground, and it is a good excuse to escape the almost claustrophobic space he shares with the others. They'd increased their security ever since… Well they just wanted to stay hidden longer than last time.

Shinji can't help but feel on edge tonight though, a twinge of caution rolling in his gut as he tries to calm Sakanade's growls in his head. A small spike of familiar reiatsu (Ichigo? No, he must be mistaken) and distant voices alert his senses, and he crouches low to avoid detection as a staggering figure crashes through the trees, a Shinigami patrol following closely behind with their weapons drawn. Wrapping his own reiatsu around him in a tight cloak, Shinji follows the patrol and the scent of blood clinging to the fleeing figure. Panic slowly rises in his gut; the idiot was going to lead them straight to the others.

Before he can catch up, the Shinigami reach the man, throwing him roughly through a tree and snickering as he struggles to get to his feet. A change goes through the man, his body going completely rigid as his bright (no one else has that colour, right?) hair covers his eyes, and he attacks the Shinigami with a sudden burst of speed. He rips through their ranks with a show of brutal force, and Shinji's gut churns as he watches the figure rip the arm of one of the Shinigami with a maniacal grin. He turns to Shinji's hiding spot and Shinji is startled to find golden orbs backed by black sclera staring right at him.

"Take care of him Shinji," the man grunts, as black fades to brown with a wince of pain, before he collapses to the ground in a heap.

Well, fuck, Shinji thinks, astounded. They've just found their missing Vaizard.

A soothing voice draws him slowly from a dream, coaxing him into consciousness. It's a familiar voice; warm and curls around his hazy thoughts like a protective blanket. But, he can sense that drowning feeling just below the surface and he fears that if he follows it it'll come back in full force.

 _Move forward, Ichigo,_ the voice whispers weakly, so quietly that he doesn't know if it was spoken or simply a stray memory floating through his mind. It comforts him, and he lets go of the fear, allowing himself to be pulled to the surface abruptly.

He throws his eyes open, immediately regretting it as he squeezes them shut again, gasping for air and gaging harshly on the coolness of it as it hits his lungs. He feels strong hands restrain him as he struggles to roll over to empty his stomach to the floor. Biting back the nausea (he still has some sense of dignity to not be sick on himself), he tries to peel his eyes back again, slowly this time. Blinking hazily, he struggles to bring the figure above him into focus. When he finally manages it, he's shocked to see that he's seen that face before, though his mind can barely string the familiarity together.

"It's ok," it says, "you're safe." He doesn't know why, but he believes it as he allows his body to relax. The figure smiles sweetly, bright hair falling prettily onto narrow shoulders, as they bring water to his lips, urging him to drink. He does, a little, but it brings the nausea back. This time, they allow him to roll to the side and there is little he can do to hold back the retching of his gut. Colour flushing to his cheeks, he weakly mutters an apology as the weight of his eyes force them closed once more.

It feels like it's a long time before he draws his eyes open again. This time though, he's alone. Ichigo takes the time to notice that he's in a small room with no windows, illuminated only by an oil lamp in the corner on the dusty floor. Slowly, he eases himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as his right side aches with the movement. Clutching at his side, he feels the bandages bound across his ribs, stained red where the pain was.

Shit.

When had he been injured?

Still not entirely focused, he draws his gaze to the familiar bucket-hatted man standing in the doorway.

Hesitantly, he brings a hand up in a wave.

"Uh, hey Urahara," he says, voice barely a croak.

...

[insert writer's block]

Ok, so context and spoilers (you've been warned - I've entered a bunch of lines just in case):

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So the idea here is that there's parallel universes/dimensions or whatever you want to call them. Things have turned south in the non-canon 'verse (lets call this dimension A) and Urahara A convinces Ichigo A to go to the other dimension (or time travel back and ends up getting stuck in dimension B or something where the timelines overlap). Ichigo A has turned against the shinigami cause they killed a friend/his sisters etc. and he's super bitter. Ichigo A gets ambushed and injured pretty bad (here I've made him get stabbed in a lung or something - poisoned blade? close to lethal but killing him off would be no fun). He leads the attackers away from 'camp' and uses the device Urahara A gave him - this is where stuff gets messed up. So, cause of paralax or something Ichigo A swaps places with Ichigo B and they're both stuck in each other's universes.

Ichigo B has no idea what's happening (they both black out and wake up in each others places) - and Ichigo B is now sporting Ichigo A's injuries - this is where I've kicked the scene off (from Ichigo B's POV)

The girl with the bright hair - I've planned for this to be Masaki (cause, wow, that would screw with Ichigo B). So in universe A (where Ichigo B is now stuck) Ichigo's sisters are dead, his mom's alive, and his dad I think I'm planning on him to be one of the bad guys.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo could almost hear the menacing chuckle ringing through his ears, dripping with victory and smug satisfaction. He shouldn't have believed the bastard would keep his word. There was a note left behind, a measly scrap of paper perched innocently on the kitchen table waiting for him when he rushed home in a panic. No upturned chairs, no broken glass. Everything was as he left it and the scent of last night's curry still lingered faintly in the air. The note contained two simple words: _a trade._ His stomach dropped like a heavy stone in a deep pool.

The meaning was clear: Aizen had his family.

A finger traces itself along his jaw roughly, sharp nail biting into his skin. He yanks his head away from it, disgusted at the touch as he throws as much menace and defiance into his body language as he can and resists the urge to swear violently at the man standing in front of him.

"What the _fuck_ do you want Aizen?" he growls through gritted teeth.

The man smirks bemusedly, hazel eyes keen and analysing. He ignores his question.

"Do you love your sisters?" he asks sweetly, voice dripping like honey from a spoon.

Ichigo stiffens at the mention of them, amber eyes snapping forward to glare at the brunette bastard. "If you so much as touch them I'll –"

"You'll what? Kill me? Don't be so arrogant as to believe that you and I are on the same level, _boy_."

A small voice echoes through the room and makes his blood run cold. "Ichi-nii?"

Panic rises in his chest as he realises his sisters are here. "No! You said you'd let them go!" His stomach boils with rage and he rushes at Aizen, pulling against the shackles binding him to the wall. They stop him an inch from Aizen's face, and he can feel the cool metal cut into his wrists. He shouldn't have believed the snake would keep his word. Ichigo spits at the smug grin he holds, and a string of colourful insults follow.

Aizen wipes his face with a white sleeve, expression now one of annoyance. A chill passes through Ichigo as Aizen snaps his fingers, signaling the arancar guard holding his sisters. The guard roughly grabs Karin's arm and bites down on her bicep, drawing a painful scream from her lips. In retaliation, her scream of pain turns to one of anger as she punches the guard smack-on in the face with as much force as she can muster. Ichigo smirks – that's his little sister!

Aizen's expression turns sour, as he promptly crosses the floor to his sisters, backhanding Karin and snapping Yuzu's arm in what seems to be the same instant.

"Don't fucking touch them you bastard!" Ichigo roars, pulling against his restraints again. "Karin! Yuzu!"

Karin doesn't move, Aizen's blow having knocked her unconscious, and Yuzu, to her credit, glares openly at their captor as she cradles her broken arm.

Ichigo growls lowly. "What do you want Aizen? We had a deal."

That smug expression returns (gods, that irks him). "We did, but unless you're going to cooperate with us then I'll have to keep them here as insurance."

Ichigo freezes in place, eyes wide and fearful. No. He can't let that happen. Casting away his pride, he lowers his gaze and takes a few steps back in submission. He promises himself that when he gets out of here he's going to make the bastard pay.

"I'll do whatever you want," he says, voice strained through grit teeth. "Just let them go."

Aizen's grin widens, eyes still cold as ice as he produces a thick black band. Ichigo tenses up as he approaches, but remains in his place; he can't risk his sisters, he has to get them out of here and if that means letting Aizen near him then so be it. It takes all of his will power not to punch the shit out of the man as he ropes the band around his neck like a collar. The effect is immediate and he feels his legs almost give out beneath him – his senses dull and it's as though he's being smothered by a blanket. The pool of power that was tingling at his fingers before – dulled by the chains, yes, but he could still feel Zangetsu's presence beneath the surface – is cut off completely, so abrupt that it makes his vision swim.

"O-ok you've done what you n-needed," Ichigo manages to say between ragged breaths, "now l-let them go." His legs give out completely and he's forced to kneel, darkness threatening at the corners of his vision. He's too tired to care if it looks like begging; he only cares if it's enough to free his sisters.

Aizen seems satisfied with his response, waving a hand to release the girls. "Do not say I'm not a man of my word, Ichigo," Aizen warns as Ichigo breathes a sigh of relief before he allows the creeping blackness to take him into its hold.


	3. Chapter 3

His blood freezes as she stiffens in his arms and a blade cuts through the both of them, slicing upwards with a rough jerk. He looks down at Rukia as she goes limp on his chest, and he can feel their blood begin to mix between them as he holds her. They both collapse in a cluttered heap, his vision fading fast as white hot heat rips itself through his body and he lets out a grunt of pain. Rukia stares into his eyes, her violet orbs wide with shock, pain and fear as blood drips from the corner of her mouth in a thick scarlet streak. His hands are coated in red and he can feel the steal of a sword protruding from her chest, right through her heart. The blade misses his, instead cutting into his lower right lung. She smiles grimly, as if accepting her fate, the fear no longer present in her expression. He panics, holding her to his chest as though by doing so he'll keep her safe.

"Rukia come on stay with me," he mutters through chocked breaths. She's not allowed to die. He won't let her. This can't be the end. No, not now. Not like this.

Rough hands pull them apart and he's left clutching numbly at the empty space where she had been. He struggles to his feet, swinging Zangetsu around with a mighty roar. What have they done? _What have they done?_

He's met with another blade, and he cuts at the person who dares to stand in his way. They can't take her away. Blindly, he hacks at his foe, not bothering with defense he just _needs to get to her_. He is quickly surrounded and forced to the ground on his belly, Zangetsu ripped from his grasp as he gasps desperately for air. Everything becomes a muffled haze as wetness soaks his shihakusho and every breath he takes feels like he's drowning. He can do nothing, left lying helpless in the dirt as they carry Rukia away and his consciousness fades to darkness.


End file.
